Need To Upgrade My 93

August 3, 2003

OK so ive got a base 1993 camry thats in pretty bad condition, hasnt been garaged sense 1998 its got rust spots, stains and holes on the seats, the interior is peeling in a couple spots and VERY VERY HORRIBLY discolored. My parents have jumped back and forth but right now their picking up a new truck and dumping the camry on me (which im not that spoiled but three days ago they were considering buying me a 2000 eclipse so yea thats why im ****** lol). But so I was thinking:

Maaco paint job, ive heard and im sure it is not very good quality, $250 base price lol but I figure ill drive the car two years until I go to college, maybe during college (depends on if I take a car or not) so frankly ive heard the main problem is the Maaco job wont last as long as your infamous 4 grand paint job but yea if I get maaco every year its still cheaper. Plus im not trying to make this into a really nice car, I just need a hobby to spend my money on, and I need a car im not embarrased to drive around (its rusting after all).

I also really want to make it into a manual, how much do you think this would cost me, could I do the work myself, I dont know _anything_ (almost nothing) about cars though im very mechanically skilled when working on things so if its possible to install the whole new tranny on my own then yes I could learn. What parts would I need?

I want to lower it, not much needs to handle speed bumps okay but for the suspension what parts do I need and whats the process like?

I want to redo the interior, but I found this place that sells interior dash covers for fairly fair priced but its velour and that seems kinda funky, dont know what you guys can reccomend to me, maybe something better. Heres a URL : http://www.caraccessories.com/dashmat_velour.asp

I wanted to do a body kit, and www.bodykits.com looked like the best bet to me.

What are some other things you can reccomend, I was thinking little things to, definatly seat covers, then stuff like lights and guages. Im running on a tight budget, not really really tight but id rather buy cheaper things, like I said im not trying to turn this into a nice sports car, just like my project car I guess. It definatly needs a new stereo too.

And to those of you who are thinking the right good idea, id like to just buy a new car but right now my parents say they wont even let me finance even a used car through them, and I dont have money now, these upgrades would come in stages as I get my paychecks lol.

Thanks in advance for your help! Please list any internet sites you like for information/parts, I live in WA so even better if you know any retail locations there!